Divorced! Now what?
Chapter 192

Jacko POV

This was a walking nightmare: the prison was full of dying prisoners, and from what I was told, the whole group would die within two weeks, with no leads on how they got death cap mushrooms fed to them. I have reviewed the cameras, and none of the people brought anything into the kitchens. It is a mystery. I guess someone is going to get away with a large number of murders. Then, there is the discovery of the prince, who was lost years ago and disappeared without a trace. I have no proof yet; forensics are still working on that room, but I would like to put my last dollar on the nephew. He was not the one to take the throne. His older brother did, but I feel it in my bones that he was behind that execution and might have had his hand in the syndicate; we have been close to charging him several times, but his diplomatic immunity got in the way. Times have changed, and if I can get some fingerprints of DNA from that room, then I am sure I can get him in jail if he steps foot in this country.

The coroner called me to come talk to him and rushed over, hoping he had found me some good news.

'Hi Jacko, come sit there as I continue with this one. He was working on one of the sets of bones. By his size and clothing, he looked like a young man. 'Afternoon Manson. What can you tell me?' I asked as I took the stool close by.

'These are all one family, and did you know they had a daughter? She could have been maybe one or two years old if memory served me well. She was not in this lot, and her body had not appeared anywhere. Mason said as he carefully took the socks off the bones. 'No. I did not; what is the significance of that? Have you found the girl?' I was not sure where this was going.

'As you know, the police and FBI take fingerprints and DNA samples of all employees to help rule them out from a crime scene. Manson continued on the other foot.

'So the girl showed up on your report?' I asked, curious now. The coroner liked to drag things out. I feel he does not get to be involved with the living much.

'Yes, she did. Do you know she is the next in line for the throne if something happens to the king? The one who thinks he is next in line is a scoundrel, and I feel his hand in this; he would be next in line if he managed to kill the girl, too. I wonder if that is why the king has lived, because he can't risk having the world go hunting for the girl and ousting him out of his comfy place!' Manson continued in his own world for a while, and I watched him work listening to the story of the royals. I wondered who the girl was, whether she was a cop, an FBI agent, the teacher down the street or a waitress, oblivious to her roots. Does anyone else know about the girl? The thought pulled me out of my musings.

'Manson, who is the girl? Is she in danger? Have you told anyone else?' I rambled out my questions all in one breath. He looked up at me as if he had forgotten I was there. He was so engrossed in his work and the story he was telling. 'Did I not tell you? It is Pam Jones; I believe she is now married to our lovely top cop, Bob. No, I have not told anyone else, just you, and that won't be in my report; she is not dead, so there is no need to be in any report I do. The folder over there has the DNA reports, and I have made a copy for you to take and give to Scott if you do not mind. He knows about the missing girl. His father worked hard on looking for her and the missing family; we believe his death was an execution, too; he got too close, but we can not prove it. It's such a mess. Now it seems the girl who thinks her family was killed in a plane crash was not family but the people who were babysitting her at the time, a close friend of the family here in our country. They had children of their own, and she fitted in just right. They adopted her, giving her their name. It seems she has managed to slip his notice for now. But if he finds out, she will be in more danger than ever from her undercover jobs. Bob can only do so much, and with babies on the way, all in line for the throne, things might get a bit messy over there! Manson was now theorizing and going over histories, but the one thing that entered my mind was, did the boss know? He said he knew her family and took her under his wing, it was time to find out.

'Thanks, Manson, catch you later.' I picked up the folder and left him to work on the skeletons. He did not say if he had found any concrete proof yet of who was in the room, but he would find it if it was there, and forensic science had come a long way in thirty years. I headed to the head of the FBI and will get to speak with Bob later about this. I stopped and knocked on his door.

'Enter.' He lifts his head up from his computer in time to watch me enter and stand before his desk, waiting for permission to sit. He is not really my boss, but he has way too much clout for me not to treat him as such. Bob is the overall boss, higher than even this man, but Bob does not show it. Bob does his work in the background and puts on the show for the public when it is needed.

'Take a seat. He nods to the chair, and I sit, putting the folder on my lap.

'Morning. Sir.' I looked at him in the eye and waited.

'Morning, what brings you here?' He sounded interested and had turned the screen on his computer off, so I got his undivided attention. I liked that about him. He made you feel like you were important enough for him to turn off any distractions. 'The home that Bob and Pam purchased is being renovated.' I started and paused, thinking about how to proceed with sharing information. I could end up giving him all my information and leave with nothing from him.

'Yes, I know the place. Go on!' He urged, leaning forward and resting his arms on the desk.

'Did you know the people who disappeared all those years ago?' This was what I needed to know the most, as he mentioned he was friends with the people who took in Pam.

'Yes, I knew them; they were syndicate heads of this city, if not the country, and were not that bad, not like now; they never did anything we could pin on them. They were the instigators of making co-ops possible and promoting better trading in our city. Why?' 'Did you know they were in line for the throne?' I studied his face to see if he would give anything away, but he was too good at hiding his thoughts.

'I did; if they did not disappear, they would be next in line for the throne. His face looked saddened for a brief moment. 'We found all but the daughter!' again, I watched his face, and this time, for a fleeting moment, there was a surprise. 'Tell me. So I told him about what we had found at the house.

'That is a sad outcome; many searched for them. He was not surprised by the news; the world would have known for someone of the same level of power to disappear.

'Do you know where the daughter is?' I am almost positive he knows it is Pam.

'Yes, and I am guessing that now that you have DNA samples, you know where she is, too. He smiled at me, a knowing look on his face.

'I do. Is that why you have protected her as much as you could all these years?'

'Yes, when are you going to tell her? And poor Bob, he is now a member of the royal family. I wonder how he is going to take that. Bethany, too, is now royal by association, and so is Theo, being his daughter and her stepdaughter. This is starting to give me a headache. When the news gets out, things are going to get crazy again!

'You can say that again. On another note, there has been a death cap mushroom poisoning at the holding jail, and according to Hank, none will live for much longer. Those that are still alive are in great pain!

'Bet the prince ordered that. Do you happen to have any news on forensics in the house yet? Besides finding Pam out. I have tried to hide her in plain sight, but I always knew she would be discovered sooner or later.' taking me back to the house and ignoring the deaths.

'Not yet, in a few more days. We talked for a bit longer before I was more or less dismissed. He gave me all he was going to give me, and I had given him a whole new set of headaches.

I left and headed to find Bob. I would give him the news, and he could talk to Pam or gather the family around and share it all at once.